fortuitous
UK /fɔːˈtjuːɪtəs/ · US /foɹˈt(j)uətəs/ adjective
- adjective Happening by fortune or chance; accidental, coincidental.
- adjective Happening by good fortune or success; fortunate, lucky.
- adjective (law) Happening independently of human control; uncontrollable.
Synonyms
by accident accidental accidentary adventitious by the by casual causeless chanceable incidental lippening occasional random serendipitous unforeseen unintended unintentional unplanned providential charmed fortunate uncaused
Antonyms
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin fortuītus (“happening by chance, accidental, random, fortuitous”), from *fortu- (“chance, fortune, luck”) + -ītus (suffix forming adjectives). *Fortu- is thought to be from *fortus, from fors (“chance, luck”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to bear, carry”)) + -tus (suffix forming action nouns). Doublet of fortuity.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Happening by chance; coming or occuring unexpectedly, or without any known cause; chance; as, the fortuitous concourse of atoms.
- adjective Happening independently of human will or means of foresight; resulting from unavoidable physical causes. Abbott.
Etymology [L. fortuitus; akin to forte, adv., by chance, prop. abl. of fors, fortis, chance. See Fortune.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “fortuitous”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details